Engine compartment paint

[Yukon Bronco]

The engine is out of my 1973 Bronco, ready to now paint the engine compartment.
What is the best do it your self paint to use ?

 

[56f100bbw]

I like body color on early broncos under the hood but on early mustangs satin black

 

[chuck1022]

I would do a gloss white. That way I can see all the leaks and stains when I spray out the engine bay. But my bronco is a POS!

 

[66ALRIDE]

If you’re not doing the body color and want a satin black in a spray can then I recommend SEM’s Trim Black. It’s a little pricier then a normal aerosol paint but looks good and holds up well.

 

[Rbuddy98]

SEM’s Trim black is the best

 

[johnbeck]

When I bought my 73 it came scandia green, black under the hood. I love the green. The black under the hood is like working in a cave. I had my 302 out until three weeks ago so I painted the engine compartment medium gray. Love it. The parts contrast to the body color so it's like working outside. If I was going for resale I might get a couple of bucks more if I painted it the metallic green exterior color but that would have required twice the prep time.

 

[Yukon Bronco]

Distributor

in the process of restoring a 1973 Bronco half cab.
I have replaced the non original motor with a 1988-1995 302
At this time I'm not ready to go with EFI
Am I able to use a 1973 distributor in this engine if I replace the gear with a composite type ?

 

[Yukon Bronco]

You recommend SEM trim black satin for engine compartment ?

 

[Bradsp8]

Anything but black. Can't see leaks, drips, spills on black as well as any other color. Body color is preferable. Black to me also raises questions as to what is the seller trying to hide.

 

[markw]

I agree, I think black looks terrible. IF you can't match the body color, then I also suggest light grey. No advice on brand though.

 

[Rustytruck]

don't worry about the color worry about getting it clean and properly sanded so the paint actually sticks and stays put forever. nothing worse than pealing and chipping paint under the hood and engine bay. it was much harder to prep under the hood and the engine bay than the whole rest of the truck.

 

[diggs00]

I used kbs topcoater: medium grey
https://www.kbs-coatings.com/2018-10-12-KBS-Top-Coater.html

https://www.kbs-coatings.com/top-coater.html

 

[ntsqd]

On the vintage race cars that I used to work on, when we had the option to do so, we painted the engine bay and all of the undercarriage Krylon "Universal Gray". Nearly as reflective as white for seeing what you're looking at (leaks, cracks, etc), and one hell of a lot easier than white to keep clean looking. Bought it by the case and we jokingly called "VRS Gray", for "Vintage Racing Services" because we used it everywhere!

 

[DirtDonk]

in the process of restoring a 1973 Bronco half cab.
I have replaced the non original motor with a 1988-1995 302
At this time I'm not ready to go with EFI
Am I able to use a 1973 distributor in this engine if I replace the gear with a composite type ?

Probably best to add to a different thread talking about the same thing.
But no, you can't use the '73 distributor as-is without changing to a gear that's compatible with a roller cam. You could do it with an '86 engine, but not an '88 to '95.

Gears are available though, so you just have to make sure you get the right one (size and material) and put it on the shaft.
I do remember there was some kind of depth change issue over the years (I ran into it with an eighties-something engine and distributor) but don't remember the details.

And welcome to classicbroncos! See if you can find a thread about it. I don't have any saved to share, but you might check out the Tech Articles listed elsewhere here as well.

Good luck!

Paul

 

[sprdv1]

I agree, I think black looks terrible. IF you can't match the body color, then I also suggest light grey. No advice on brand though.

Yeah. Like the others suggest

Not black

 

[rguest3]

I think a black engine compartment looks terrible as well. Looks like you are trying to hide something.

Other than a Raven Black Bronco, not a single Early Bronco from the factory had a Black Engine Compartment, or Black Interior for that matter.

 

[big jim]

I always thought of black engine bays as ch#*y crap. Ford should be body color. Mine isn’t, it’s white as that was the original body color, they did a pretty good job of painting it but I wish they had done the bay.